The flights were uneventful and we landed in Ft. Lauderdale right on time – 1:45am and then the fun began at Budget Car Rental. We had gotten a really good deal on a small Ford; however, when we got to the rental counter there was a huge line in the regular check-in line and a smaller line at the express line, where we were supposed to go as we had pre-paid for the car.
The only problem was they were no cars! Finally after about an hour we were able to get out car. We were told by the counter staff that some people had waited 3 hours for their cars. They didn’t have the cheap car that we had rented so they gave us a full size Ford and off we went to the Marriott.
We are staying at a Marriott in north Ft. Lauderdale that is about ½ hour away from the cruise port, but it was the least expensive of the Marriott’s this weekend. To stay on the beach would have been a couple of hundred more dollars a night so we can drive to the beach tomorrow. They upgraded us to a room on the top floor (17th) and it will be just fine.
We finally got into our room at 4:00 and Barb took a short nap while Ed started to work on the blog.
When we arrived, the sky was cloudy, but by 5pm, the sun was out and it was a beautiful day.
Then it was time for dinner. Barb had wanted to go to some authentic Cuban restaurants and so we went to one about 40 minutes away called Sergios in Pembroke Pines, FL. Sergios was started 40 years ago by Cubans who felt there was not a good Cuban restaurant in the area. WOW – what a great meal we had.
We started out with an appetizer that was a trio of port,
ground beef and shrimp each served on a small bed of fried plantains. Plantains are from the banana family. It also had tomatoes, avocadoes and pico de
gallo all mixed together.
Then for our main course we had a dish called pan con bistec, which is thinly sliced grilled stead and onions topped with tomatoes, a pile of very, very thin shoestring fries, plantains, Swiss cheese and served on Cuban bread. It was wonderful and we could not finish the sandwich. (we brought a menu back with us so we knew what we ordered)
Then for our main course we had a dish called pan con bistec, which is thinly sliced grilled stead and onions topped with tomatoes, a pile of very, very thin shoestring fries, plantains, Swiss cheese and served on Cuban bread. It was wonderful and we could not finish the sandwich. (we brought a menu back with us so we knew what we ordered)
We finish off dinner with a dessert of flan!!!
As it had been a long day, we drove back to the Marriott
and relaxed the rest of the evening.
Tomorrow, hopefully the beach. Night from Florida
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| Our room |
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| Appetizer |
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| Dinner |
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| The sandwich from the end |
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| Flan |
